The Civil War Journal of Colonel William J. Bolton: 51st Pennsylvania, April 20, 1861 - August 2, 1865

285 Pages·2000·47.99 MB·English

by  Richard A. Sauers

The Civil War Journal of
Colonel William J. Bolton
Colonel William J. Bolton
The Civil War Journal of
Colonel William J. Bolton
5 ht Pennsylvania
April 20, 1861-August 2, 1865
edited by
Dr. Richard A. Sauers
¥4
DA CAPO PRESS
Copyright © 2000 by Dr. Richard A Sauers
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electrical, mechanical or otherwise
without first seeking the written permission of the publisher.
Cataloging-in-Publication Data available from the Library of Congress
ISBN 1-58097-039-7
Printed in the United States of America.
Published by Da Capo Press
Contents
Introduction 7
List of Abbreviations 11
1. The 4th Pennsylvania (April 20-July 28,1861) 13
2. The 51st Pennsylvania (September 10-December 31, 1861) 27
3. The Burnside Expedition (January 1-July 5, 1862) 37
4. Second Manassas (July 6-September 4, 1862) 67
5. The Maryland Campaign (September 5-November 8, 1862) 79
6. Fredericksburg (November 9, 1862-February 4, 1863) 97
7. The Department of the Ohio (February 5-June 5, 1863) 107
8. Vicksburg and Jackson (June 6-August 17, 1863) 121
9. The Department of the Ohio (August 18-November 3, 1863) 137
10. Knoxville (November 4, 1863-February 9, 1864) 147
11. The Ninth Army Corps (February 10-May 3, 1864) 187
12. The Overland Campaign (May 4-June 15, 1864) 197
13. Petersburg (June 16-December 31, 1864) 217
14. Petersburg (January 1-April 22, 1865) 241
15. Final Duty (April 23-August 2, 1865) 261
Appendix: Field, Staff, and Company Officers of the 51st PA 273
Bibliography of the 51 St PA 278
Index 283
This page intentionally left blank
Introduction
Of the many famous Pennsylvania units of the Civil War, one of die best-known is the 51st
Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. Formed in the fall of 1861 by Colonel John F. Hartranft, this
unit remained in service as a veteran volunteer regiment until mustered out of service in July
1865. It served in the Ninth Army Corps under Ambrose E. Burnside, fighting in North
Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Tennessee, and Mississippi.
The second, and last, colonel of the regiment was William J. Bolton. He was at first captain
of Company A, then was promoted to major after Antietam. After Lieutenant Colonel Edwin
Schall was killed at Cold Harbor, Bolton was promoted to colonel after Hartranft finally
received a long-overdue promotion to brigadier general.
Colonel Bolton was born in Norristown, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, on October
22, 1833. He was named after the Reverend William Jordan, a Baptist minister from North
Carolina then preaching at the Norristown Baptist Church. The colonel's four siblings in
cluded his older brother Joseph K. Bolton, who also served in the 51st Pennsylvania.
After early schooling in a variety of locales, young Bolton graduated from Tremont Semi
nary in 1851. Bolton's first regular employment was learning the machinist trade at William
Jamison & Sons in Norristown. When he left his apprenticeship, Bolton worked at iron fence-
making, as an engineer at the Lucinda Furnace, at the Schall and Dewees Nailworks, and
finally as an engineer at James Hooven & Sons. While working at Hoovens, Bolton became
involved in a political difference with another militia officer, the result of which was his dis
charge from Hoovens in October 1860.
Bolton was able to work as a substitute at another mill, but he was penniless when the
rebellion opened in April 1861. He had been interested in military matters ever since the age
of seven, when he would drill with neighborhood pals, Winfield Scott Hancock among the
number. In 1855, Bolton enlisted in the Wayne Artillerists, one of Norristown's uniformed
militia companies. In June 1859, he was commissioned second lieutenant in that organization.
A month later, Bolton was commissioned Judge Advocate of the Second Brigade, Second Di
vision. He was appointed paymaster on the staff of the division commander in April 1860.
When President-elect Lincoln stopped in Harrisburg and made a speech in front of the capitol
building on February 22, 1861, Captain Bolton served as officer of the guard for the day's
ceremonies.
When the conflict started, the company offered its services to Governor Andrew G. Curtin.
However, all die officers had resigned when the company tendered its offer, and so Bolton,
even though no longer an active member, was elected captain. The Wayne Artillerists became
Company A, 4th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, led by Colonel John F. Hartranft. This
regiment saw no active service; its term of service expired on July 20, and even though the
8 — Civil War Journal of Colonel William J. Bolton
Union army was moving toward the enemy at Bull Run, most of the men in the 4th voted to
return home.
Bolton later recalled that he had come to the conclusion that the war would last longer
than three months even before his first term of service had expired. As soon as he returned
home to Norristown, Captain Bolton began recruiting a company for the three years' service.
This new organization became Company A, 51st Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, again led
by Hartranft.
Bolton served in the 51st until the regiment was mustered out of service in July 1865. He
was twice wounded. At Antietam, a bullet hit him in the face, passed through both cheeks,
fractured his jaw, and cut his tongue. Bolton recuperated and returned to duty as major of the
regiment, then was promoted to colonel in June 1864. On July 30, 1864, during the fighting
at the Crater, an iron ball from a spherical shell hit him in the same place, but passed under the
jawbone and lodged behind it. Surgeons were unable to locate it, but during a fit of coughing
seventeen years later, the ball dropped into Bolton's hand.
Following the war, Bolton and his brother John started a wallpaper business that remained
in the two brothers' hands until Colonel Bolton sold it in 1882. The previous year, Governor
Hartranft had appointed him a customs house inspector in Philadelphia. Bolton held this
position until the administration changed in 1886; he was a Republican and lost the job. After
a year's unemployment, Bolton became a watchman at the grand depot of John Wanamaker's,
then was elevated to Special Officer at the depot until he resigned in October 1889. At this
time, he was appointed a customs inspector in Philadelphia by Collector Thomas V. Cooper.
In December 1894, Bolton was appointed a U.S. Storekeeper and stationed at Spreckels Bonded
Warehouse in Philadelphia. Until his death on August 2, 1906, Bolton served in this capacity
at other warehouses in Philadelphia.
During the war, the Montgomery County Republicans nominated Bolton for Clerk of
County Courts. Bolton learned of this while home on a leave of absence and was influenced to
remain in the contest even though his opposition was stronger. He was defeated. In the fall of
1865, he was nominated for County Treasurer but suffered another defeat; in 1867 he lost the
race for County Sheriff.
On February 25, 1868, Bolton married Emma Rupert of Columbia County. The couple
was on their honeymoon when the man who had defeated him as sheriff died suddenly and
Governor John W. Geary appointed Bolton to fill out the term. Bolton's remaining political
career consisted of terms as a member of the Town Council of Norristown and city Burgess,
coupled with an 1878 defeat in a contest for state legislator from Norristown.
Mr. and Mrs. Bolton had six children, only one of whom, Mary, survived until adulthood.
Mrs. Bolton died on May 26, 1897. The couple and their children were all buried in Riverside
Cemetery in Norristown.
Bolton reentered military service in September 1869, when he was commissioned captain
of the Bolton Guards. Two years later, Governor Geary commissioned him colonel of the 16th
Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment. In 1873, Governor Hartranft appointed him a major gen
eral in the National Guard of Pennsylvania. Bolton was placed in command of the Second
Division, composed of units from Bucks, Montgomery, and Delaware counties. The division
was reorganized in 1874 to include units from Montgomery, Bucks, Berks, Lehigh, and
Northampton. Bolton held this rank until his commission expired in 1878.
The veteran was also interested in his Civil War comrades. He became a charter member of
the Grand Army of the Republic Post in Norristown which became the General Zook Post 11.
He was its commander for a time and was a delegate to several national conventions. He
Introduction — 9
organized posts in Conshohocken and Pottstown, and was voted a member of the prestigious
Post 2 in Philadelphia. Bolton was also elected to the Union Veteran Legion and attended
some of its national conventions.
In September 1880, the survivors of the 51st Pennsylvania organized their first annual
reunion and elected Colonel Bolton president of the association for its first three years. On
February 5, 1890, Bolton was elected a Companion of the First Class of the Military Order
of the Loyal Legion of the United States, Commandery of Pennsylvania. This veterans' orga
nization restricted its membership to those who had participated in the Civil War as Union
officers.
Bolton also was a member of two Pennsylvania commissions organized to supervise the
acquisition of land and erect monuments on the Antietam battlefield. The first commission
was organized by Governor Robert E. Pattison in 1894 and the second by Governor Samuel
W. Pennypacker in 1903.
At some point after the war, Bolton took his wartime diaries and began to recopy them,
adding orders and reports received during the conflict. He filled two ledger-sized volumes of
over twelve hundred pages with his handwriting. His daily chronicle included the services of
both the 4th and 51st Pennsylvania regiments. Bolton added a family and personal history,
then followed the daily log with transcriptions of 51st Pennsylvania soldier letters published
by Norristown newspapers and miscellaneous material pertaining to the war and the 51st
regiment. He also included a detailed regimental roster of the 51st.
Following Bolton's death, these ledger books were acquired by the Pennsylvania
Commandery of MOLLUS and today are still owned by the Civil War Library and Museum at
1805 Pine Street in Philadelphia. I discovered the Bolton "War Journal" several years ago
while researching my doctoral dissertation, General Burnside's 1862 North Carolina Cam
paign. Since that time, the library allowed me to borrow the books so that I could transcribe
the entire journal section. I have deposited a complete transcription of this section of Bolton's
journal in the library for use by patrons.
I first transcribed Bolton's manuscript exactly as he wrote it. 1 next divided the manuscript
into campaign chapters and prefaced each with a brief explanatory paragraph. Then, I broke
the longer daily entries into paragraphs for ease of reading. I also standardized capitalization
and added commas where necessary. Footnotes provide background on people, places, and
terms, as well as identifying Bolton's sources for some passages. I have rarely used [sic] after
misspelled or misused words; [sic] has been used only when I felt it was necessary for under
standing. In many cases, I have corrected Bolton's spelling of personal names, indicating at
times when he consistently used an alternate spelling.
When reworking his diary, Bolton made liberal use of the Official Records. I have deleted
most of his quotes and paraphrases from the Official Records when I felt such material was
extraneous and did not pertain directly to the 51st Pennsylvania and its daily operations.
Bolton was not an admirer of Generals Irvin McDowell and George B. McClellan; I have also
deleted much of his criticism of these two generals. Bolton also used Thomas Parker's regimen
tal history; the notes indicate when he did so, and when he repeated mistakes tJiat Parker had
made.
Bolton added a lengthy regimental roster to his journal. I have used Bolton's notations
from this roster to upgrade his casualty listings for the battles and engagements in which the
51st participated. Usually, Bolton's list of casualties in his journal failed to match those in
cluded in the official lists of casualties; dius I used his roster to correct his initial listings. I have
used different abbreviations than Bolton did for ranks of those listing in the casualties in order